


Garth Brooks and Vodka Shots

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drama, F/M, Family, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-01
Updated: 2015-06-01
Packaged: 2018-04-02 07:10:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4050937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I get a sudden hankering for peanut butter and jelly or Oreo cookie pie.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Garth Brooks and Vodka Shots

**Author's Note:**

> This is for citymusings, who sent me the prompt ‘I was flirting with you’ for this pairing. A couple of things…this fic is not on their usual Meant to Be timeline, it takes place a decade before. Also, I know John Brooks is not Jessie’s father’s name but I already had it and since season 10 of Criminal Minds doesn’t really exist to me it’s what I’m keeping.

** June, 1998 **

“You got this?”

“I have totally got this.” She nodded.

“You really got this?”

“You are not talking to an amateur here!” Jessica Brooks exclaimed as she slammed her hand down on the bar. “Let’s do this!”

“OK, here we go…1, 2, 3!!”

Jessie threw back the double shot of vodka and then sucked the lemon between her lips. She dropped the lemon out of her mouth, throwing her arms in the air.

“Woo! And another barkeep!” she shouted.

“You are a stone’s throw from being flagged.” Kyle Collins poured more Smirnoff into the two double shot glasses in front of him.

“How many shot glasses is a stone’s throw?” Lizzie asked giggling. 

They'd just recently graduated from college and were back home in Newberry. It was time to blow off a little steam and Dillinger’s was the perfect place to do it. It was outside of Newberry proper, near the county line. All the young people within a 20 mile radius would congregate there for shenanigans, this rainy Thursday night being no different.

“You got two more and you're done.” He smiled.

“Aww c'mon Kyle.” Jessie whined and picked up her shot glass. “I played lacrosse you know…I'm an All-American.”

“Somewhere in your adorable little drunk mind, you're making a point Brooks.”

“Female athletes can drink almost anyone under the table.” 

“With the exception of Southern politicians and German tourists.” Lizzie said. Her speech was slurred but her tone so matter of fact, as if she was speaking absolute truth.

“Mmm hmm.” Kyle nodded. “You get a DD and I might consider extending it to three.”

She looked around the crowded bar. Growing up in a town of 1,900 close to a county line with about 200 more, Jessie knew a lot of people in that room. That didn’t mean she wanted anything to do with them tonight. The first person she looked at was a definite no…he would turn into an octopus as soon as they were alone. The three girls in the booth were wasted and she didn’t want to end up wrapped around a pole tonight. There was an off-duty cop but she didn’t like him, someone with at least two boyfriends and a husband, five people she went to high school with. This was never going to work in a million years.

“Oh my God.” She said.

“What?” Lizzie asked, trying to look where Jessie was. That was hard with blurry vision.

“Oh my god, I don’t even believe…” 

Jessie walked away without saying anything else. She began to walk through the crowds, saying hurried helloes to a few people who tried to stop her. When Jessica Brooks had her eyes on something that was all she wanted to focus on. And despite being drunk, no point in lying about being tipsy, she was completely focused.

“Excuse me,” she tapped his shoulder. “I think we might know each other.”

He turned, preparing to explain that it was just his face…he had that face. He'd explained it to five or six girls already tonight. It wasn’t easy walking through life looking like the boy next door. 

“I don’t think…Jessie?”

“Hi.” She held up her hand to wave.

“Jessie Brooks?” he asked.

“Stop asking questions you already know the answer to and give me a big hug.” 

She threw her arms around him before he could even make a move. Sam Kassmeyer smiled, wrapping her in a bear-like embrace. He hadn’t seen her in a long time; it had to have been a couple of years. Sam was in school in Boston and didn’t come home as much as a lot of other kids did. This summer his dad needed some help at the local bowling alley. He also wanted Sam to try to talk some sense into his younger brother Sean. He was 18, a recent high school graduate, and didn’t want to continue his education.

“It is so good to see you.” Jessie hugged him a little tighter. “When did you get all grown up?”

“I'm older than you are, missy.” Sam replied. “A few years as a matter of fact. You're the one who grew up and didn’t tell me.”

“C'mon, I want to show you to someone.”

Sam didn’t even know how to respond to that. She took his hand and they were making their way to the bar. Lizzie Evans was up there, still trying to use makeup to make herself look older when she was now old enough to get into bars. She was one of those people who would probably look 17 until she hit 35. He and Lizzie grew up just a few blocks from each other in the working class section of Newberry. She and Jessie had been close friends all of their lives.

“Hey Lizzie.”

“Hi Sam,” she smiled. “It’s good to see you back. You’ve brought the average decent dude ratio up in this place. Are you home for good?”

“Just for the summer to help out dad at the bowling alley. How’s your grandma?”

“Great. Thanks for asking. She's gonna flip shit when she hears her favorite paperboy is back in Newberry. She totally thinks you walk on water.”

“No one walks on water but the carpenter.” Sam replied.

“What? The Carpenters walk on water?” Lizzie giggled. “I always thought Richard was the dreamiest but you can't tell anyone about that.”

“My lips are sealed, Lizzie.”

“Kyle, Kyle,” Jessie waved one hand wildly to get his attention. The other was still firmly planted in Sam’s. “Check it out, Kyle…I got me a DD.”

“A what now?” Sam raised an eyebrow.

“Designated driver.” Kyle replied. “How’s it going, Sam?”

“It’s going.” He shook Kyle’s hand. He was the older, and more sensible, brother of one of Sam’s best friends Paul Collins. “I'm not quite sure what I've been dragged into here.”

“They're doing shots. I told Jess I was flagging her if she didn’t find a designated driver. Looks like she found you.”

“Yes!” Jessie again threw her arms up in victory. “Have a beer on me, Sam. But only one as you have to drive me home after this.”

“And me too!” Lizzie exclaimed. She picked up her shot glass and handed Jessie hers.

“What are you ladies drinking to?” Sam asked, suddenly well aware of why he'd been invited to the party.

“We’re drinking to…” Jessie held up her shot glass, some of the vodka spilling and splashing on her fingers. “Having fantastic degrees and no job prospects.”

“Hells yeah, unemployment!” Lizzie tapped her glass on Jessie and they were throwing them back. They picked up the lemons from the bar, sucking on them

Jessie wore that sweet grin as she pushed the empty glasses back in Kyle’s direction. He smiled too, grabbing the Smirnoff.

“Five is the magic number because it really equals 10 and that’s enough. Enjoy this shit because after this it’s all beer, water, and Coke.”

“I never pegged you for a bar Narc, Kyle.” Jessie said. “I thought we knew each other better than that.”

“You would be thinking so wrong, our Miss Brooks.” Kyle smiled and turned to Sam. “What can I get you?”

“Sam Adams is fine.”

“We just got a couple of cases of the seasonal brews in.”

“Yeah? Gimme a Porch Rocker for sure.” Sam said. “I haven’t had one of those in the longest.”

“Good call.”

“I need to pee.” Lizzie put her chin on Jessie’s shoulder. “I hate the lines in this place. Kyle man, you should totally do something about the lines. There are three stalls in there. Pee and get out, ladies.”

“I’ll chat with management.” Kyle said.

“Well while you wait you can flirt with Danny Wales. He's over there somewhere. I've seen him like four times.”

“I didn’t even know he was here.” Lizzie said. “Hmm.”

“How long have we been friends?” Jessie looked at her. Newberry had a ton of worst kept secrets. One of them was Lizzie Evans’ unabashed love for Danny Wales. She had declared it at like seven years old, never caring that there was a decade between them. “You're the worse liar ever, Lizzles. Just go, but make sure I know if you're gonna leave with him. And if you don’t wanna leave with him but he's getting pushy, let me know. It’s been a while since I kicked a guy’s ass. I'm always down for that.”

“I will.” Lizzie kissed her cheek. 

“I don’t know if I tell you enough that you're an awesome best good friend. You're like the….Johnny Marr to my Morrissey.”

“Oh hell no, Desi is Johnny Marr and I don’t like The Smiths.” Lizzie said. “You two are Joan and Cherrie in The Runaways without the sex. I'm Lita.”

“Who goes on to a rockin career of her own.” Jessie said. “Playing with such rock gods as Ozzy Osbourne.”

“In what might be the least metal metal song of all time.” Lizzie said. “It’s tragic. OK, I'm gonna pee and then maybe get laid.”

“Whatever you do,” Jessie put her hand on Lizzie’s shoulder. “Don’t do both at the same time.”

“I would be nowhere without such words of wisdom, oh curly haired one.” She laughed. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Later gator.”

Jessie turned her focus on Sam. He was sitting on a bar stool looking at her just like she was looking at him. He nursed his Sam Adams, wanted to enjoy the one drink he was having, she felt a twinge of guilt for thrusting the designated driver job on him. For all Jessie knew, Sam was there to get drunk and screw. She might have ruined his whole evening. That would be a shitty friend move.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked, climbing onto the barstool next to him. It was after midnight now so more people were filtering in from some of the places like the bowling alley or restaurants closing. Some may have even drove in from the county after doing drugs. Welcome to Saturday night in Newberry.

“I just haven’t seen you in a long time, that’s all. It’s good to see you again.” He shook his head. “I don't know.”

Jessie smiled, flagging Kyle and ordering a Miller High Life. Shot fest was over but it was surely fun while it lasted. It was time to come down with a couple of beers like a normal girl.

“Oh you know.” She poked his thigh and laughed. “You know, Sam Kassmeyer, and you're gonna tell me.”

“What do you want me to tell you?” he asked.

“Tell me what you're thinking. I can handle it.”

“I don't know, you just remind me of home…that’s all.” Sam looked into the mouth of his beer bottle when he said it.

“Do I?” 

“Yeah. I get a sudden hankering for peanut butter and jelly or Oreo cookie pie.”

“I spoiled you for a while there.” Jessie laughed and took her beer. “You had it pretty good.”

“Being a third wheel to your best friend and the girl he loved was not having it good.” Sam smiled. “But I always appreciated your kindness.”

“More guys should be like you. I bet you're beating the Boston babes away with a stick.”

“I'm really busy with school there.”

“So you're not waking up in strange beds with massive hangovers?” Jessie asked. 

“Are you?” he countered.

“Touché…match point for Mr. Kassmeyer. Wanna keep playing?”

“I have this feeling that I should and I shouldn’t all wrapped up in one.”

“Go with your gut.” Jessie said.

“I think I have been since the moment you grabbed my hand.” Sam said.

“I'm going to chug this beer and we’ll get out of here.”

“I'm ready when you are.”

She grinned and threw it back. She damn sure was ready. This might be her lucky night. Sam Kassmeyer was probably the perfect guy to take her virginity. Not that Jessie could be so worried about making it all into something it wasn’t. Sam was a great guy though. 

He was handsome and sweet and years from now she at least wouldn’t look back on this as one of the worst nights ever. If Lizzie was gonna get laid than Jessie was too. The whole thing was silly to her but people made them out to be the last virgins in the world. She was in her 20s now…hardly knew where the time had gone. Jessie would just add it to the long list of things she’d “gotten through” in the clichéd life of a small town girl.

***

“Is something the matter?”

The car was parked out in front of her house. Garth Brooks played from the tape deck, Jessie didn’t know the name of the song and had no idea that Sam was a fan. It had begun to rain harder and she mostly heard the slightly squeaky windshield wipers going back and forth. Jessie had frozen. She was so close to making a go of it and froze. Something was wrong with her…there had to be something wrong with her. 

First she felt all naughty and then she felt kinda nauseous. It was probably the vodka. But if this didn’t happen now, when was it going to happen? Who was it going to happen with? Was Jessie destined to be a virgin for the rest of her life? Would she have to move to a faraway place to find a guy she could actually tolerate for more than ten minutes to let this happen?

“I feel so damn stupid,” she put her hand on the door handle and pushed it open. All these years later and she still remembered you had to give the passenger side door to Sam’s Chevy Blazer a good shoulder push before it let you out. “I'm just gonna go, OK?”

“Hey now,” Sam undid his seatbelt and reached for her. “If something is wrong, you can talk to me. It’s Sam…we’re friends.”

“I'm never drinking again.” She mumbled.

“All good things in moderation. That’s what the Bible says. That’s what my dad says.”

“Are you even real?” she looked at him with a stinky look on her face.

“I try to be.” He replied. “What’s going on? It doesn’t seem like you're alright.”

“I'm flirting with you!” Jessie exclaimed. “I was flirting with you Sam. God.”

“When?” he asked.

“Are you serious right now? Back there, at the bar. You're about as crappy at this as I am.”

“I'm no Casanova but I think I know flirting. You were…” Sam closed his eyes for a moment, opened them, and thought about it. “Oh. Oh. Jess…”

“Don’t.” she held up her hand. “Don’t give me a lecture or something like that. I already feel like an ass. You totally brought me home and I thought…”

“Jess, I…whoa, what did you think?”

“Do I really have to tell you what I thought?” she was looking at him again.

“You thought I was going to take sexual advantage of a young girl who had at least five double shots of vodka?” he asked.

“I was hoping.” She mumbled under her breath. “I'm not a young girl, Sam Kassmeyer. I'm 22 years old.”

“You're like my little sister.”

“I don’t want to be your little sister.” She was pushing the door open and jumping out of the SUV. “Go to hell.”

“Hey Jess,” Sam was jumping out of the car too. He didn’t care that he was probably going to get soaked to the skin. Luckily Jessie was too drunk to actually get out of the car properly and stalk off. He rushed around to her side, pulled the door opened, and put his hands on her shoulders. “I don’t want you to be mad at me. It was good to see you tonight. I was looking forward to seeing you again.”

“You were?”

“Yeah. It’s been too long; it really has. I'm in town all summer and I know we’re both going to be working hard but it'd be fun to hang out. You're like my cool little sister. I don’t mean that in a condescending way at all.”

“Sure.” She rolled her eyes. “I don’t want to be your little sister; I mean that too. One older sibling is enough for me.”

“Wanna be my best friend?” Sam asked.

“Hotch isn't gonna like that too much.”

“There's enough of me to go around. I’ll make sure of it.”

“I'm sorry, Sam.” Jessie sighed and wrapped her arms around his middle. 

Even though they were both wet, it made her feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. Sam had always been one of the good guys. She thought maybe underneath that sweet, churchgoing exterior she would find someone who was as full of lust as the rest of them. He was not perfect by any means but he was good. Best friends sounded kind of lame but Jessie’s life was about to change dramatically. Maybe it would be good to have someone new but still familiar to make those changes with.

“What are you sorry about?”

“Being an idiot. Sometimes it’s kinda tough, not being like everyone else.”

“Now that’s something I know a little about.” He said. “You're not an idiot…you're awesome. I think you need a good night’s sleep though.”

“Don’t tell anybody about this.” Jessie grumbled. 

She let him help her out of the car. They held hands as they walked through the rain up to her porch. Appletree Terrace was quiet. At this hour, all the middle class moms and dads were long asleep. Jessie couldn’t wait to move someplace she could call her own. There was just something about this part of town…she never fit in.

“Well there goes my exposé in the _Newberry Daily News_. How are you going to deny me a headline as great as ‘ _Dumb but Handsome Guy Totally Misreads Signals of Horny College Coed_ ’?”

“Oh my god, shut up.” Jessie covered her mouth so she wouldn’t laugh too loud. “You're awful.”

“We should definitely hang out this summer.” Sam said. “I wasn’t just saying that to sound good.”

“We’ll see. I am going to be pretty busy. Dad wants me to become assistant manager of the diner by September so I'm going to be training all summer.”

“That sounds like a really big job. I mean, I'm sure you can do it but it’s a lot.”

“Well, he's worked so hard to build that place. I went to school to learn all I could to help. So when he retires in a few years I’ll be able to take the reins.” She said.

“Does Haley have any interest in the diner?” Sam asked.

“Does Sean have any interest in the bowling alley?”

“I hear you. You gonna be alright?”

“Tonight?” Jessie asked.

“Yeah.” He nodded.

“Sure.” She put on her typical Jessie Brooks smile. “What are our 20s for if not waking up dehydrated with a headache and a month’s worth of regrets?”

“Um…”

“I’ll see you around, Sam Kassmeyer.” She kissed his cheek. “Thanks for the ride.”

“Anytime. Goodnight.”

Sam watched her go inside the house and then he went and got back in his Blazer. When he started the car, _Standing Outside the Fire_ came on but he turned the music off. He was frowning, still worried about Jessie. He really had known her his entire life and looked at her like a little sister. Sam was just 13 when he went with his best friend over to the Brooks house nearly every other day one summer as Hotch tried to woo Haley. 

He took Sam with him to bolster his confidence but the truth is that Sam didn’t spend a lot of time with the couple. He usually ended up sitting around like an unwanted orphan. Then Jessie designated herself the one-girl entertainment crew. They started watching movies, music videos, playing air hockey in the basement or soccer out back. And then Jessie started coming with her father to baseball practice, making all the sandwiches and handing out drinks for the boys. 

She was three years younger than him, and soon enough Sam would lose his own heart to Emily Prentiss, but Jessie was a huge part of his life that summer. They never lost touch, it was impossible in Newberry, but they grew up. It would be a pleasure to get to know Jessie the adult. Sam was a bit embarrassed that she expected him to go to bed with her tonight…or something like that. He wasn’t quite sure how they were going to brush that whole thing off and start again. 

He planned to work really hard at it. Sam was home this summer for a reason. Yes, he wanted to help out his dad and talk some sense into his brother. But he had also spent the better part of the last six years in Boston. Sometimes it may as well have been Mars. 

Sam Kassmeyer was a small town boy and Newberry was his town. There was one year left on the Master’s program Sam intended to finish. It wouldn’t be easy to use a Master’s in social and behavioral science in a town of just over 2,000. Still Sam would rather have a million awkward encounters with the people he knew and cared for than be a stranger in a concrete jungle anymore.

Jessie watched him drive off. He sat out there a long time, what was he doing. She smirked as she thought he might have been jerking off. Good church boys didn’t do things like that, did they? What would have been the point when she was offering him the milk for free? 

There was no going back from the ass she made of herself tonight. Jessie could avoid Sam like the plague for the rest of the summer but it wasn’t going to make the feelings go away. She also wouldn’t be able to explain it to him because who in their right mind would think she would be in her right mind participating in some kind of self-created race to lose her virginity. No, she would just hold her head high, chalk tonight up to one giant L, and move on. Sighing, Jessie pushed the front curtain back into place and headed for the kitchen. She needed about a gallon of water, two Advil, and prayer that she didn’t wake up feeling like warmed over kitty vomit in the morning.

 

“Oh my god, Daddy, you scared me.” Jessie jumped when she saw her father in the kitchen.

“Sorry about that.” John Brooks put the kettle on the stove. “I heard you outside so I thought you might need some tea.”

“Weren't you asleep?”

“I fell asleep in my chair. I'm almost three-quarters of the way through Harry Potter so I didn’t want to keep your mother awake. Then I just decided to wait up for you.”

“I'm a grownup, Daddy.”

“I know,” he held up his hands. “And I respect your boundaries. I just wanted to see you, that’s all.”

“I had too much to drink tonight.” Jessie flopped down in one of the kitchen chairs. “I made an ass of myself and sobered right up.”

“Who dropped you off?”

“Sam.”

“Sam…?” that was a pretty common name. There were at least three guys around Jessie’s age named Sam. There were some older ones as well. It better not have been any of them. John wasn’t beyond the antiquated move of getting his shotgun. 

“Sam Kassmeyer.”

“Sam’s home? Mike didn’t even tell me he was back in town.”

“I ran into him tonight in Dillinger’s. I'm sure you'll see them at brunch tomorrow and Mr. Kassmeyer will brag all about him. Whenever Sam is in town he and his dad do Saturday brunch.”

“I'm probably gonna need you to work dinner tomorrow.” John said. The kettle whistled. He poured two mugs of Sleepytime tea and joined his daughter at the table. He pulled a crumpled pack of Winston Reds from his shirt pocket and lit one.

“I thought we talked about quitting.” Jessie said. “I mean the smoking.”

“I know what you mean, and I'm down to four a day. It’s a damned miracle Jessie. I've decided to work with positive reinforcement instead of negative. Scientific studies show it’s much more successful in the long run.”

“Daddy, have I ever told you that you're my favorite bullshit artist of all time?”

“That’s probably the first swear word you’ve said in front of me.” He said.

“Seriously?” Jessie raised an eyebrow.

“I think when you were nine or so, you jammed your finger and said dammit. That was it. But with the way you trash talked on the lacrosse field I figured with your friends you had a mouth like a trucker.”

“Only when I’m really angry.” She blew on her tea and sipped it. “By the way, I’ll work dinner tomorrow. Do you need me to close?”

“I won't fight you if you want to. Sam Kassmeyer is a good boy.”

“Daddy, he's like 25 now. I think his boy days are behind him.”

“He's always going to be a boy to me. I watched him grow up just like a lot of other boys in this town. I can count on one hand the ones I feel comfortable with you in their passenger seat.”

“I'm probably even pickier than you. Sometimes I think that’s a good thing, and other times…”

“You're going to find the right one Jessie. I know you expect me to say that because I'm your dad and don’t do well thinking you're anything but amazing. It’s true though. It may take time and I hate it but you might have a bad relationship before you get to that good one. I still know it’s out there for you.”

“You married your high school sweetheart.” Jessie said. 

“I wouldn’t be opposed to you marrying Bill Hightower.” John said. “He's a good kid from a good home and I don’t think that your being different races makes any difference.”

“That’s quite New England of you, Daddy.”

John smirked. He finished off his cigarette before getting up from the chair with his teacup. Walking around the table, he kissed the top of his daughter’s head. Her blonde curls were wet from the rain.

“Take three Advil before bed. It’ll help. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Daddy. I love you.”

“I love you too, Jess.”

***


End file.
